Sediment-infill volcanic breccia from the Neoarchean Shimoga greenstone terrane,western Dharwar Craton: Implications on pyroclastic volcanism and sedimentation in an active continental margin

We report sediment-infill volcanic breccia from the Neoarchean Shimoga greenstone belt of western Dharwar Craton which is associated with rhyolites, chlorite schists and pyroclastic rocks. The pyroclastic rocks of Yalavadahalli area of Shimoga greenstone belt host volcanogenic Pb–Cu–Zn mineralization. The sediment-infill volcanic breccia is clast-supported and comprises angular to sub-angular felsic volcanic clasts embedded in a dolomitic matrix that infilled the spaces in between the framework of volcanic clasts. The volcanic clasts are essentially composed of alkali feldspar and quartz with accessory biotite and opaques. These clasts have geochemical characteristics consistent with that of the associated potassic rhyolites from Daginkatte Formation. The rare earth elements (REE) and high field strength element (HFSE) compositions of the sediment-infill volcanic breccia and associated mafic and felsic volcanic rocks suggest an active continental margin setting for their generation. Origin, transport and deposition of these rhyolitic clasts and their aggregation with infiltrated carbonate sediments may be attributed to pyroclastic volcanism, short distance transportation of felsic volcanic clasts and their deposition in a shallow marine shelf in an active continental margin tectonic setting where the rhyolitic clasts were cemented by carbonate material. This unique rock type, marked by close association of pyroclastic volcanic rocks and shallow marine shelf sediments, suggest shorter distance between the ridge and shelf in the Neoarchean plate tectonic scenario.     

Physical character of archean felsic volcanism in the vicinity of the Helen iron Mine,Wawa, Ontario,Canada

Archean felsic volcanic rocks form a 2000 m thick succession stratigraphically below the Helen Iron Formation in the vicinity of the Helen Mine, Wawa, Ontario. Based on relict textures and structures, lateral and vertical facies changes, and fragment type, size and distribution, the felsic volcanic rocks have been subdivided into (a) lava flows and domes (b) hyalotuffs, (c) bedded pyroclastic flows, (d) massive pyroclastic flows, and (e) block and ash flows.Lava flows and domes are flow-banded, massive, and/or brecciated and occur throughout the stratigraphic succession. Dome/flow complexes are believed to mark the end of explosive eruptive cycles. Deposits interpreted as hyalotuffs are finely bedded and composed dominantly of ash-size material and accretionary lapilli. These deposits are interlayered with bedded pyroclastic flow deposits and probably formed from phreatomagmatic eruptions in a shallow subaqueous environment. Such eruptions led to the formation of tuff cones or rings. If these structures emerged they may have restricted the access of seawater to the eruptive vent(s), thus causing a change in eruptive style from short, explosive pulses to the establishment of an eruption column. Collapse of this column would lead to the accumulation of pyroclastic material within and on the flanks of the cone/ring structure, and to flows which move down the structure and into the sea. Bedded pyroclastic deposits in the Wawa area are thought to have formed in this manner, and are now composed of a thicker, more massive basal unit which is overlain by one or more finely bedded ash units. Based on bed thickness, fragment and crystal size, type and abundance, these deposits are further subdivided into central, proximal and distal facies.Central facies units consist of poorly graded, thick (30–80 m) basal beds composed of 23–60% lithic and 1–8% juvenile fragments. These are overlain by 1–4 thinner ash beds (2–25 cm). Proximal facies basal beds range from 2–35 m in thickness and are composed of 15–35% lithic and 4–16% juvenile fragments. Typically, lithic components are normally graded, whereas juvenile fragments are inversely graded. These basal beds are overlain by ash beds (2–14 in number) which range from 12 cm to 6 m in thickness. Distal basal beds, where present, are thin (1–2 m), and composed of 2–8% lithic and 6–21% juvenile fragments. Overlying ash beds range up to 40 in number.The climax of pyroclastic activity is represented by a thick (1000 m) sequence of massive, poorly sorted, pyroclastic flow deposits which are composed of 5–15% lithic fragments and abundant pumice. These deposits are similar to subaerial ash flows and appear to mark the rapid eruption of large volumes of material. They are overlain by felsic lavas and/or domes. Periodic collapse of the growing domes produced abundant coarse volcanic breccia. The overall volcanic environment is suggestive of caldera formation and late stage dome extrusion.     

The sandstone memory of the evolution of a Triassic volcanic arc in the Southern Alps, Italy

The erosion of a southern volcanic belt provided the bulk of the fine-grained and moderately sorted siliciclastic detritus in the whole deltaic to lagoonal Carnian (Upper Triassic) sequence of the Bergamasc Alps. Volcanic input began in the Early Carnian (Calcare Metallifero Bergamasco) and became prominent in Early-Middle (Val Sabbia Sandstone) and Late Carnian times (S. Giovanni Bianco Fm.), after an intervening period of diminished supply (Gorno Fm.). The mineralogical and chemical composition of the sandstones compares closely with that of siliciclastics derived from modern, Pacific-type magmatic arcs and it testifies to an evolution of the source rocks from andesites and dacites during the deposition of the Val Sabbia Sandstone, towards rhyodacitic ignimbrites for the S. Giovanni Bianco Fm. The marked reduction in feldspars at the top of the sequence contrasts with the classical trend from Undissected to Dissected Magmatic Arc provenance and is ascribed to the progressive deepening of erosion into Middle Triassic felsic volcanics. An increase in undulatory and polycrystalline quartz grains in the Late Carnian shows that the erosion did reach deeper into the crystalline roots of the arc, although non-volcanic detritus never exceeded 10%. After a terminal pyroclastic event in Middle-Late Carnian times, suggested by the sudden appearance of pumiceous vitric clasts at the top of the Val Sabbia Sandstone, the mid-Triassic orogenic magmatism ended and was followed by the tensional stage which led to the birth of Neotethys.     

Early Pleistocene glacial outwash deposits in the eastern San Joaquin Valley, California: a model for humid-region alluvial fans

ABSTRACT The early Pleistocene Laguna and Turlock Lake Formations and China Hat and Arroyo Seco Gravels along the east side of the San Joaquin Valley, California, were deposited in alluvial fans and marginal lakes. Upward-coarsening sequences of silt-sand-gravel record westward progradation of glacial outwash fans from the Sierra Nevada into proglacial lakes in the San Joaquin Valley. Distinctive sedimentary features delineate lacustrine, prodelta, and delta-front facies within fan-margin deposits and lower, middle, and upper-fan facies within alluvial-fan deposits. The lacustrine facies consists of a few metres of thinly and evenly bedded, rhythmically laminated claystone and clayey siltstone in varved couplets. Draped lamination, sinusoidal lamination, and load and pillar structures occur in some beds. Siltstone and claystone grade upward to slightly thicker wavy beds of siltstone and very fine-grained unconsolidated sand deposited in a prodelta setting. Convolute laminae within deformed steeply dipping foreset beds suggest slumping on the prodelta slope. The prodelta facies grades up to the delta-front facies, which consists of burrowed and bioturbated cross-bedded fine sand. Deltaic deposits are 5–6 m thick. The lower-fan facies forms the base of the fan sequence and consists of several metres of irregularly bedded, laminated, oxidized siltstone and fine sand. The middle-fan facies consists of cross-bedded, medium-grained to gravelly sand-filled channels cut into the lower-fan facies. Interbedded lens-shaped siltstone beds 2 m thick and several metres across were deposited in abandoned channels. The upper-fan facies consists of moderately to strongly weathered clayey gravel and sand containing pebble imbrication and crude stratification. Argillization during post-depositional soil formation has blurred the distinction between mud-supported debris-flow deposits and clast-supported channel deposits, but both are present in this facies. The deposits described here demonstrate the need for additional fan models in order to incorporate the variety of deposits developed in alluvial fan sequences deposited in humid climates. In previous models based on arctic fans, debris flows, abandoned channels, or widespread siltstone beds are not present in fan sequences, nor are marginal lacustrine and deltaic deposits well represented.     

Detrital zircon UPb geochronology of the Wuyu (Oiyug) Basin,southern Tibetan Plateau,and its geological implications

Cenozoic strata in the Wuyu Basin record the tectonic evolution of the southern Tibetan Plateau. Here, we use detrital zircon isotope data and paleocurrents based on petrographic and sedimentary facies analyses to constrain the provenance of sediments in the Wuyu Basin. On this basis, we recognize multiple phases of tectonic activity in the southern Tibetan Plateau since the Miocene. Tectonic activity at ca. 15 Ma ended the lacustrine sedimentary facies of the Mangxiang Fm. and caused volcanic eruptions; the Wuyu Basin received deposits of the Laiqing Fm. dominated by volcanic and pyroclastic rocks. Tectonic activity at ca. 8 Ma resulted in the volcanic and pyroclastic rocks of the Laiqing Fm. becoming one of the main provenances for the overlying Wuyu Fm. The lacustrine environment in the Wuyu Basin ended again and shifted to braided river sedimentation, the paleocurrent directions changed from northward to southward, and the central Lhasa subterrane became one of the main provenances at ca. 2.5 Ma. By comparing the detrital zircon ages of our samples in the Wuyu Basin and sands from the Lhasa River, we infer that a long river comparable to the modern Lhasa River existed in the Wuyu Basin area at ca. 2.5 Ma. During the Quaternary, due to the consistent convergence between the Indian and Eurasian plates, the eastern Gangdese Mountains uplifted, which resulted in the blocking of this river and the development of the current geomorphic features in the Wuyu Basin area.     

Long-runout pyroclastic surge on a Cretaceous alluvial plain, Republic of Korea

Pyroclastic surge is a dilute and turbulent flow of volcanic gas and tephra that is commonly generated during explosive volcanic eruptions and can threaten lives along its flow paths. Assessing its travel distance and delineating future volcanic hazards have therefore been major concerns of volcanologists. Historical eruptions show that most pyroclastic surges travel a few tens of kilometres or less from their sources. Aeolian or aquagene processes have therefore been evoked for the emplacement of supposed surge deposits much beyond this distance. Here we show that a Cretaceous tuff bed in Korea was emplaced by an exceptionally powerful pyroclastic surge that flowed as far as the most powerful pyroclastic flows that formed the low-aspect-ratio ignimbrites (LARI). This has significant implications for interpreting ancient volcanic eruptions and delineating volcanic hazards by pyroclastic surges, and casts intriguing questions on the eruption dynamics and physics of long-runout pyroclastic surges and their distinction from LARI-forming pyroclastic flows.     

Sedimentation and palaeoenvironments of Late Cretaceous crater-lake deposits in Bushmanland, South Africa

A large diameter borehole core from an epiclastic kimberlite remnant on the farm Stompoor in the Prieska district, Cape Province, contains a continuous 76 m section of fossiliferous sediments interpreted as having accumulated within a crater-lake during the Late Cretaceous. Three distinct facies associations reflect depositional processes that prevailed in offshore areas of the original lake. Facies Association A: matrix-supported pebble conglomerates comprising a chaotic assemblage of pyroclastic, basement and country rocks set in a fine-grained matrix. Flat, non-erosional basal surfaces with ‘frozen’ rip-up clasts, the protrusion of matrix-supported clasts above the upper surfaces and a direct relationship between maximum clast size and bed thickness suggest deposition from debris flows that originated subaerially on pyroclastic talus cones surrounding the crater. Facies Association B: alternating thin beds of matrix-supported granule conglomerate, structureless fine-grained sandstone and parallel laminated mudrock. Small fining-upward sequences within these beds are comparable to turbidite Bouma Tade, Tde. Numerous partings display petrified fish and frog skeletons, as well as bivalve, gastropod and ostracode shells, leaf impressions, insect wings and a possible bird bone. These beds were deposited by thin debris-flows and turbidity underflows interspersed with periods of ‘pelagic’ sedimentation. Facies Association C: microlaminated mudstone beds containing scattered ‘dropstone lapilli’. The lamination is imparted by alternating Ca-rich/Ca-poor layers which may reflect climatic seasonality. They are interpreted as the result of seasonally influenced suspension settling through a thermally stratified water column. Short-term periodicities in conglomerate bed thicknesses are interpreted as the result of successive block caving of a slump scar giving rise to several debris flows from the same source area. Seismic shock from nearby volcanism may have simultaneously triggered slumps on both subaerial and subaqueous slopes. Dropstone lapilli in Type C beds and the preponderance of load casting in Type B beds support this interpretation. An estimate of the time span involved in accumulating 76 m of crater lake sediments based on the possible seasonal imprint of Type C beds gives a figure of some 220,000 yr.     

Recognition and characterisation of high-grade ignimbrites from the Neoproterozoic rhyolitic volcanism in southernmost Brazil

Neoproterozoic magmatism in southern Brazil is associated with translithospheric shear belts and strike-slip basins in a post-collisional setting related to the last stages of the Brasilian-Pan African Orogenic Cycle. It evolved from an association of high-K calc-alkaline, leucocratic-peraluminous and continental tholeiitic magmas, to an association with shoshonitic magmas and, eventually, to an association with magmas of the sodic mildly alkaline series. This magmatism varies from metaluminous to peralkaline and exhibits alkaline sodic affinity. A large volcanism is related to this alkaline sodic magmatism and is named the Acampamento Velho Formation. This unit was coeval with subaerial siliciclastic sedimentation in post-collisional basins preserved in the region. The Acampamento Velho Formation consists of pyroclastic and effusive volcanic deposits, which are mainly silicic, emplaced under subaerial conditions. The best exposures of this volcanism occur on the Ramada and Taquarembó plateaus, located southwest of Rio Grande do Sul in southernmost Brazil. The pyroclastic flow deposits are composed mainly of juvenile fragments such as pumices, shards and crystal fragments. Welding is very effective in these units. High-grade ignimbrites occur at the base and intermediate portions of the deposits and rheoignimbrites are observed at the top. The pre-eruptive temperature calculations, which were obtained at the saturation of zircon, revealed values between 870 °C and 978 °C for Taquarembó Plateau and 850 °C–946 °C for Ramada Plateau. The calculated viscosity values vary from 6.946 to 8.453 log η (Pas) for the rheoignimbrites and 7.818 to 10.588 log η (Pas) for the ignimbrites. Zr contents increase toward the top of the pyroclastic sequence, which indicates an increase in peralkalinity and determines the reduction in viscosity for clasts at the upper portions of the flows. The patterns of the structures of the ignimbrites and rheoignimbrites in the Taquarembó and Ramada plateaus accords well with successive pyroclastic flows that halts en masse. In this model the entire pyroclastic flow halts en masse, so complex vertical changes in grain size and composition are interpreted as recording deposition from successive discrete pyroclastic flows. The stratification observed in intermediate units in Taquarembó Plateau might reflect in this case variation in eruptive dynamics and short pauses.     

Bedrock lithology control on contemporaneous alluvial fan facies, Oligo-Miocene, southern Pyrenees, Spain

Climate and tectonics play important roles in controlling processes of transport and deposition on alluvial fans, but the bedrock lithology in the fan catchment area is also a significant, independent factor. Adjacent Oligo-Miocene alluvial fan deposits on the northern margin of the Ebro Basin display contrasting depositional characteristics with one dominated by the deposits of debris flows and the other by deposition from flows of water. A difference in clast compositions indicates that the two studied fans (the Nueno and San Julián fans) had contrasting bedrock lithology in their drainage basins. The proximal facies of the Nueno fan body contains matrix-supported conglomerate beds with up to 80% pebble clasts of gypsum in a matrix of gypsiferous sand, interbedded with gypsarenite beds. The drainage basin of this fan was dominated by Triassic bedrock consisting of beds of gypsum, marl and micritic limestone. The San Julián fan body comprises clast-supported, polymict conglomerate beds containing pebbles from Triassic, Cretaceous and Palaeogene limestone units that are exposed in the adjacent part of the basin margin. The interfingering of the deposits of these two fans demonstrates that they were contemporaneous. Given the consistent climate, the differences in fan depositional processes must therefore be attributed to the contrasting bedrock lithology in their drainage basins. A drainage basin consisting mainly of marl and gypsum bedrock provided sufficient fine-grained material to generate debris flows, whereas more dilute, water-lain processes dominated where the drainage basin was largely limestone strata.     

Gondwanan magmatism with adakite-like signature linked to Cu (Mo)-porphyry deposits from the San Rafael Massif,Mendoza Province,Argentina

The gondwanan magmatism in the San Rafael Massif, known as Choiyoi Magmatic Cycle, was emplaced during the inception of a magmatic arc setting during the early Permian. Two different sections can be differentiated in this volcanic sequence. The lower section (∼281 up to ∼265 Ma) consisting of andesites and dacitic to low-silica rhyolitic ignimbrites has geochemical characteristics that indicate a subduction zone setting. The upper section (∼265 up to ∼252 Ma) composed of rhyolitic ignimbrites and lava flows, dacitic to rhyolitic subvolcanics and alkalic basaltic andesites has geochemical characteristics transitional between subduction and continental intraplate settings. Several Cu–(Mo) porphyry deposits are genetically linked to the lower section (Infiernillo, San Pedro and La Chilca-Zanjón del Buitre). In this paper, we discussed the petrogenesis of the magmatism linked to the porphyry deposits from the San Rafael Massif. The petrogenetic analysis suggests that the lower section was produced in a thickened crust resulting in an adakite-like signature magmatism. The U/Pb LA-ICP-MS age of magmatic zircons from an intrusive associated to the San Pedro porphyry (263.1 ± 4.2 Ma) allowed confirming that the emplacement of Cu–Mo porphyry deposits in the San Rafael Massif occurred during the change in the geodynamical conditions from a transpressive to a transtensive tectonic regime.     

Formation of Subaqueous Felsic Domes and Accompanying Pyroclastic Deposits on the Foça Peninsula (Izmir,Turkey)

In western Anatolia, a thick volcanic succession of andesitic to rhyolitic lavas and volcaniclastic rocks crops out extensively. On Foça Peninsula, the westernmost part of the region, a dominantly rhyolitic sequence is exposed where massive rhyolites occur as dome or domelike stubby lava flows. These rhyolite domes vertically and laterally pass into blanketing volcaniclastic sequences. The gradational boundary relations and the facies characteristics of the surrounding volcaniclastic sequences indicate that the silicic domes directly intruded a subaqueous environment and were shattered upon sudden contact with water to form hyaloclastic blankets.

In and around these rhyolite domes, we have defined six different volcanic and volcaniclastic facies, consisting of: (1) massive rhyolite; (2) massive perlite; (3) hyaloclastic breccias; (4) rhyolite pumice and lithic fragment-bearing volcaniclastic rocks; (5) subaqueous welded ignimbrites; and (6) brecciated perlite. The massive rhyolite facies have distinct structures from the centers to the peripheries of the domes and stubby lava flows. Massive lava facies gradually pass into hyaloclastic breccias and massive perlite facies, indicating water-magma interaction during the emplacement. Phreatomagmatic explosive activity and doming caused the subaqueous pyroclastic flows on the flanks of the volcanic center. Welding in the upper parts of these pyroclastic flow deposits indicates the high-temperature emplacement of the pyroclastic material and relatively slow cooling caused by the cushioning effect of the gas-vapor mixture and rapid deposition of younger pyroclastic units.     

鄂尔多斯盆地南部三叠系延长组湖相重力流沉积细粒岩及其油气地质意义

随着页岩油气勘探开发和相关领域研究的不断深入,细粒沉积物的搬运和沉积已成为当前沉积学研究的热点问题之一,但中国中生代湖泊环境中的泥质重力流沉积尚未引起应有的关注。通过岩心观察、薄片鉴定等手段及综合研究,分析了鄂尔多斯盆地晚三叠世湖相泥质重力流沉积特征,探讨了其形成机制与成因分类。鄂尔多斯盆地三叠系延长组湖相泥页岩结构类型多样,发育泥质块体流沉积、泥质碎屑流沉积、泥质浊流沉积和泥质异重流沉积等多种重力流沉积类型。按照泥质含量将重力流划分为砂质重力流、泥质重力流和混合重力流3种亚类,并根据成因将重力流划分为滑塌体、碎屑流、浊流及异重流等4种亚类;结合成因和泥质含量,将重力流沉积共划分为12种类型。滑塌岩、碎屑岩分布于三角洲前缘斜坡脚附近;浊积岩、异重岩广泛分布于三角洲斜坡至沉积中心。认为泥质沉积物可以在强水动力条件下搬运-沉积;重力流沉积细粒物质在湖相沉积中占据很大的比例;泥质重力流对泥页岩中的碎屑物质、黏土矿物及有机质的搬运和沉积起到重要作用,因而对于页岩油气的生烃、储集性能和压裂工艺研究具有重要意义。     

安徽巢湖地区早三叠世火山碎屑流的岩石学特征及其形成机理

安徽巢湖早三叠世青龙组南陵湖段中的火山碎屑流沉积物,由火山碎屑岩组成,可分为英安 质角砾岩、英安质晶屑－玻屑凝灰角砾岩、英安质玻屑－晶屑凝灰岩和凝灰质灰岩四种岩石类型。沉积 层序分为两个旋回,包括Ｂｏｕｍａ序列的Ａ—Ｃ、Ａ—Ｅ段。层序分析表明,是介于近源和远源之间的过渡 相,属于斜坡沉积环境,物质来源于巢湖以南的浅海区火山喷发物质。     

The uppermost deposits of the stratigraphic succession of the Farafra Depression (Western Desert,Egypt): Evolution to a Post-Eocene continental event

This paper gives insight into continental sedimentary deposits that occur at the uppermost part of the stratigraphic succession present in the north-eastern sector of the Farafra Depression (Western Desert, Egypt). Using space imagery to complete the field work, the geology of the area has been mapped and the presence of a N–S oriented fault system is documented. The analysis of the morphotectonic features related to this fault system allows reconstructing the structural and sedimentological evolution of the area. The study indicates that the continental deposits were accumulated in alluvial systems that unconformably overlie shale and evaporitic rocks attributable to the Paleocene–Eocene Esna Formation. The deposits of the Esna Formation show soft-sediment deformation features, which include slump associated to dish and pillar sedimentary structures and provide evidence of syndepositional tectonic activity during the sedimentation of this unit. The outcrops are preserved in two areas on separated fault-bounded blocks. Proximal alluvial fan facies crop out in a dowthrown block close to the depression boundary. The proximal facies are made up mostly by polymictic conglomerates which occasionally contain boulders. The conglomerate clasts are mainly quartz, carbonate, anhydrite satin spar vein, mudrock, ironstone and nummulite fossils. The mid-fan facies consist of trough cross-bedded, rippled and cross-laminated quartzarenites with reworked glauconite grains and carbonate rock fragments, interpreted as deposited by distributary streams. The distal alluvial fan deposits consist of sandy marls that evolve toward the top of the sections into root-bioturbated lacustrine limestone beds that are locally silicified. The limestones are biomicrites containing characea, ostracods and gastropods with fenestral porosity.A number of features, including clast provenance (mainly from marine Paleocene and Eocene rocks), the observed fractural pattern (N–S direction related to the opening of the Red Sea), and the sedimentary relationships, suggests that the continental deposits were accumulated during the Oligocene–Miocene interval.     

Classification,formation, and transport mechanisms of mud clasts

Mud clasts are common in non-marine to marine sedimentary records, however, why lack a widely accepted classification scheme? We propose that it is the relative balance of volumetric abundance, sorting, roundness, and grain size that controls the texture and fabric of mud clasts. Nine distinct types of mud clasts are identified in the study based on quantitatified properties, and fall into two groups coarse-grained and fine-grained. The generation of mud clasts can be assigned to failure, erosion, and/or bioturbation of muddy sediment. These clasts are transported within fluid flows including Newtonian fluids, non-Newtonian fluids, and Bingham plastics (gravity flow and turbidity flow), showing various physical characteristics depended upon the density and viscosity of flows. Newtonian flows with less density and viscosity commonly form mud clasts with mature textures. In non-Newtonian (gravity-driven) flows, mud clasts are normally transported in laminar flows with high density and viscosity, developing matrix-supported mud clasts with immature textures. The study of classification, formation, and transport mechanisms of mud clasts has implications for identifying and interpreting sedimentary environments.     

The late Quaternary tephrostratigraphical record of the San Gregorio Magno basin (southern Italy)

Twenty‐one primary pyroclastic layers were found embedded in the lacustrine sediments of the San Gregorio Magno basin (Southern Apennines). These sand‐sized layers were characterised by a noticeable juvenile fragments content and by a sharp basal contact with the underlying clay and silt sediments. The tephra layers have been correlated with terrestrial counterparts from well‐known eruptive events of the Campanian volcanic area, or with reference layers from deep sea sediment cores and from the Monticchio maar sequence. The investigation of the San Gregorio Magno tephra layers made it possible to deduce that lacustrine sedimentation at San Gregorio Magno basin began before 170k yr BP and lasted at least until the emplacement of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff, which occurred about 15k yr BP. The tephrochronology allowed determination of the varying sedimentation rate that occurred in the basin. Correlation of the lacustrine record with marine sequences has allowed development of a late Quaternary tephrostratotype for southern Italy. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Grain size variations in ignimbrites and implications for the transport of pyroclastic flows

Ignimbrite flow units commonly show reverse grading of large pumice clasts and normal grading of large lithic clasts. Ignimbrites show coarse-tail grading, in which particles beneath a critical diameter, ranging from 64 to 2 mm, are ungraded. Above this size the larger the clast diameter the more pronounced the segregation. The grading is consistent with the theoretical settling rates of particles in a dispersion with a high particle concentration. Ignimbrite flow units show a reversely graded, fine grained basal layer which is attributed to the action of boundary forces during flow. Ignimbrites are commonly associated with cross-stratified pyroclastic surge deposits and fine ash fall deposits formed in the same eruption. The fine ash fall deposit is depleted in crystals and is thought to be the deposit of the fine turbulent cloud observed making up the upper parts of nuées ardentes. Pyroclastic flows are postulated to be dense, poorly expanded partly fluidized debris flows. Only its fine grained components can be fluidized by gas. Pyroclastic flows are believed to behave as a dispersion of larger clasts in a medium of fluidized fines, which acts as a lubricant similar to water in mud-flows. Poor sorting in ignimbrites is attributed to high particle concentrations not turbulence. Many pyroclastic flows may be laminar in their movement with apparent viscosities, deduced from the lateral grading of large lithic clasts, in the range 10¹?10³ poise.     

The fluvial and pyroclastic deposits of the Cagayan Basin, Northern Luzon, Philippines—an example of non-marine volcaniclastic sedimentation in an interarc basin

ABSTRACT The Cagayan basin of Northern Luzon, an interarc basin 250 km long and 80 km wide, contains a 900 m thick sequence of Plio-Pleistocene fluvial and pyroclastic deposits. These deposits are divided into two formations, the Ilagan and Awidon Mesa, and three lithofacies associations. The facies, which are interpreted as meandering stream, braided stream, lahar, and pyroclastic flow and fall deposits, occur in a coarsening upward sequence. Meandering stream deposits interbedded with tuffs are overlain by braided stream deposits interbedded with coarser pyroclastic deposits; lahars and ignimbrites. The coarsening upward volcaniclastic deposits reflect the tectonic and volcanic evolution of the adjacent Cordillera Central volcanic arc. Uplift of the arc resulted in the progradation of coarser clastics further into the basin, the development of an alluvial fan, and migration of the basin depocentre away from the arc. The coarsening of the pyroclastic deposits reflects the development of a more proximal calc-alkaline volcanic belt in the maturing volcanic arc. The Cagayan basin sediments serve as an example of the type and sequence of non marine volcaniclastic sediments that may form in other interarc basins. This is because the tectonic and volcanic processes which controlled sedimentation in the Cagayan basin also affect other arc systems and will therefore control or significantly influence volcaniclastic sedimentation in other interarc basins.     

鄂尔多斯盆地上三叠统延长组长7段深水重力流沉积类型

以鄂尔多斯盆地上三叠统延长组长7段取芯段为主要研究对象,以详细的岩芯观察为基础,以Z43井为例,研究鄂尔多斯盆地延长组长7段深水重力流沉积类型及其特征.研究结果表明,研究区主要发育砂质碎屑流沉积、低密度浊流沉积及混合事件层三种沉积类型.砂质碎屑流沉积整体呈块状,岩性为中—细砂岩,内部可见多个接触面,为多套砂质碎屑流沉积...     

Petrology of the Colíder Group volcanic successions in the northernmost Mato Grosso,Brazil: A contribution to the knowledge of the felsic volcanism of the Alta Floresta Gold Province

The Colider Group ignimbrites and rhyolites, located between Guarantã do Norte and Serra do Cachimbo, Brazil derives from a felsic magmatism with a wide spatial distribution at the Alta Floresta Gold Province (AFGP). The geological mapping and petrographic studies allow distinguishing three volcanic successions of the Colider Group at the study area, named Lower (LS), Intermediate (IS) and Upper (US). The LS characterizes by its abundance in pyroclastic density current deposits, such as ignimbrites and surge deposits, with subordinated effusive rocks. The US consists of effusive rhyolites and trachytes and, subordinately, rheomorphic ignimbrites. The magmas that generated the volcanic rocks of the LS is of a subsolvus character. The US rocks present, dominantly, a mineralogy indicating a hypersolvus character. This characteristic can be indicating a variation of the fluid pressure conditions within the magma chambers that generated this magmatism. Regarding the chemical composition of the volcanic rocks from the two successions, we can point out that both have a metaluminous to slightly peraluminous character and affinity with A2-type magmas. The zircon U-Pb LA-ICPMS isotopic data of a LS rhyolite indicate a crystallization age of 1810 ± 9 Ma, interpreted as the Lower Succession age. One of the hypotheses that may be suggested to the generation of the volcanic successions is that the petrographic, lithochemical, and geochronological contrasts indicate the occurrence of two distinct magmatic events, one of ∼1.80 Ga and another of ∼1.76 Ga. The second hypothesis is that both successions belong to the same magmatic event, which occurred from 1.81 Ga to 1.76 Ga.